Unnamed
by The Cosmic Penguin
Summary: In the passage between the Mirror World and Dream Land, a small creature awakens for the first time. But why does he feel like he's already grown up? And where is the evil that he feels all around him? Pre-'Kirby & the Amazing Mirror', in some ways.


A/N: What? Cos likes Shadow Kirby a lot? Well, yeah. Amazing Mirror was my first game, and Shadow Kirby is a real mystery to the fanbase. All you know about him is that he gives you items, is Kirby's counterpart who was born when he entered the Mirror World, has the power to handle Galaxia, and is very against outsiders coming into the Mirror World (despite the fact that an outsider's actions created him). Hopefully with this, I can piece a few things together, at least for my continuity references.

_(Cover is from the 'Shadow Kirby' palette swap in 'Kirby Fighters' from 'Triple Deluxe'.)_

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><p>Somewhere in the Mirror World, a small, new creature opened its eyes for the first time.<p>

A cool breeze blew over its skin, and it shivered instinctively despite its position in the sunlight. Its dark grey feet rotated to the side as if it was about to sit up, but then collapsed back to their normal position. The creature's stubby arms felt around the ground it was laying on. The area was composed mainly of soft, cloud-covered ground; on second glance it seemed as if the clouds _were_ the actual ground. When it was certain that there was nothing in the area it could harm itself on, it rolled itself upright. Its eyes slowly blinked open; the blue orbs focusing as it saw its first sight.

He was in a suspended area overlooking a secret valley, and he could see an endless blue sky with soft, thin clouds. The valley below was surrounded by tall mountains that shielded it from outside eyes, and there appeared to be very few creatures—if any at all—in his line of sight. It seemed to be the epitome of peacefulness. The area behind him seemed to be a mirror image of what he had seen in the opposite direction—quite strange, but…

But this wasn't right. It wasn't the first thing he'd seen. This place didn't _feel_ right. It felt…

…like…something was wrong somewhere…

…and he couldn't place his paw on exactly what it was. This wasn't his home; he knew that much. It felt hostile and overshadowed by despair and terror. The emotions of unseen creatures flooded into his senses, and he shuddered in discomfort at their negative emotions. What did he know about this? What could he do?

He took a chance with his luck and pushed himself onto his feet. Expecting himself to be like a newborn creature, he braced himself for a fall into the cloudy ground.

Quite unlike his expectations, he found himself standing firmly on his feet without even the slightest trace of misbalance. His eyes narrowed. He didn't trust himself; it had to be luck. He wasn't about to trust anything. After all, the surrounding area certainly seemed happy and alluring, yet the feeling he got from it was the exact opposite. Instead of being attracted to explore it further, it gave him the feeling that he should be fleeing in the opposite direction.

But…even that feeling was inaccurate, despite being part of his own consciousness. He did not feel like fleeing from the source. He felt like confronting it somehow, even with the feeling of defeat that he was experiencing as well. A newborn creature surely stood no chance of defeating an evil so...terrible and _dark_ as what he had felt. Why did he think he had any chance of standing up to it?

He mulled this over for a bit, wondering how he could even comprehend so much in such detail. He was a newborn, wasn't he? These were his first scenarios, weren't they? But as he kept standing on his feet, feeling the wind start to stir around him, he had to question these happenings. He felt that he was newborn. He _knew_ that he was newborn. Yet he had the comprehension and skills of a creature far older than he was. As he searched his mind for an answer, he came across even more confusing thoughts.

Some memories.

Names and locations flashed through his mind as he dug through experiences he never knew he'd had. Rainbow Route, Snooters, Scarfies, Candy Constellation, Shotzos, Gordos, Gobbler, Olive Ocean, Moonlight Mansion, Mirras…the list went on. Names weren't just everything—he could picture them all, and he knew information about each of them. Olive Ocean was in the south. Rainbow Route was near the center of the main Mirror World. Peppermint Palace was on the far outskirts, but there was an enchanted passage to get to it from Carrot Castle. Be quiet around Mirras because otherwise they'll eat your mirror-door and run away with it. Twisters can go through walls when they turn into wind. Don't inhale Scarfies or the fireballs shot by Hotheads.

_Inhale?_

Yes, inhale. He knew he could suck air in through his mouth at a more powerful degree than most. Though he'd never used it before, he knew he could. Techniques came rushing into his head in the same manner as before. But why? Why did he know about Slide Kicks and copy abilities and Warpstars and gravity bending and such? Why did he know all this when he was just coming to life now?

He couldn't be amnesiac; if he had he wouldn't have remembered all that. He was sure that part of his memory didn't get knocked out—he _felt_ that he was newborn, and—

His _feelings_...

The memories flying through his head just then…they had no feeling. Even the irritation that he felt at remembering a Snooter eating the Syrup-mix he had been about to pick up had no feeling to it. He did not actually feel as if he had been in any of the scenarios he remembered. But what conclusion could that bring him to? Was it a result of the person who'd created him?

_The person who created me…_

No, he was certain that nobody had created him, at least, he hoped not. Did he have parents? He felt as if he should, but as he slowly turned around full circle, he saw nobody in sight that would resemble such. He did not see anyone at all, much less somebody who looked like him. As a matter of fact, he did not even know what he looked like. He supposed he'd find out when he looked in a mirror. He had no idea what he was a result of—whether he'd had parents, or whether he was the end product of some magic spell; it didn't matter. There was nobody around to take care of him or give him guidance on the subject of life and living, so he supposed he'd have to find those things out for himself…or make them up; who needed somebody else's opinion? He could live his life the way he wanted to. He would have done so if something hadn't whispered to him.

_But they need you._

Who did? Who _needed_ him? Nobody even knew he was here. But something was calling out to him all the same. There was something wrong here, and he should fix it. He didn't know why…he didn't know much of anything about what was going on here, for that matter. Yet he _still felt_ like he should _do_ something about it.

But what could he do? There was nothing a newborn creature could do against a powerful being—or any being, for that matter. Surely he was in a totally helpless position against attackers.

There was a feeling that welled up inside him, though. The feeling that told him that he should—that he _had_ to—help. He paused a moment, unconsciously lifting his paw to his cheek; trying to figure out this feeling that was trying to manipulate his untouched thoughts. Was it…instincts, perhaps? How did he even know that word? He was _sure_ he was a newborn creature; how would he know something like that when he'd never even heard it or read it? How did he know of any attacks, instincts, locations, or anything else? He had the knowledge of an already-skilled…fighter, perhaps—but he hadn't existed for even a minute. He gripped his paw tightly in frustration and irritation. He couldn't figure anything out; he was so useless…

In his silence, background noise became more apparent, shocking him into alertness. While there was noise from both directions, his extra sense told him to go toward the Dimensional Mirror. Something was wrong with the it. All visitors into the Mirror World came in through the Dimensional Mirror.

If something was wrong with it, the Mirror World was in great peril.

He instinctively dashed toward a mirror, as those were frequent shortcuts in their land. This particular one was marked with a rainbow over it, signifying that it was directly linked to the Hall of Mirrors. The shadowy creature halted for a moment in front of it, wondering what he looked like even in his distress over the sudden chaos. He walked closer to the mirror, curious what the reflection would hold.

Nothing.

He paced around it and turned. The mirror gave off a confused aura; sensing that somebody was there, but not able to tell who it was. This gave the mystery creature a feeling of despair, and the same feeling of helplessness washed over him.

_Am I a ghost? Can anybody see me? Am I even __**here**__?_

_No, being a ghost feels wrong. I __**must**__ be here. The mirror just can't see me for some reason. Maybe I'm magic. I'm going to find out from someone._

He dashed through the mirror, only to freeze in place and duck down.

Below him, a blue creature and a…that was weird. There was a copy of the creature! How was that possible? He looked almost the same, but...darker. He was grey, black, and blood red, as opposed to this other creature's...blue, blue, and purple color scheme. Who was the original creature, and who was the look-alike? He supposed they were both look-alikes of each other, for now...

The two were fighting under the Dimensional Mirror. Behind them, the Dimensional Mirror was reflecting the passage to the Mirror World that visitors normally took. Darkness was beginning to seep into the edges of the clouds, and with a shiver the spectator realized that that was where he had been mere seconds ago. It occasionally shifted its focus to other areas of the Mirror World in the background, but the passage never faded from its view.

The Dimensional Mirror usually reflected the image of those who stared into it and their conscious..._never darkness, never the passage...and it shouldn't have any outsiders in it. The Mirror should never do that..._

_Outsiders…_

_Outsiders caused this. Darkness has been brought into our world where none has existed before. No creature in the Mirror World could do this._

Down below, the two creatures were shouting at each other between blows. The blue creature said he wanted to protect the Mirror World from...darkness; he never specified any villain other than that. The darker one had apparently had its laugh about that already...or perhaps, it was so certain it would win that it was just keeping quiet. It made the spectator jealous of the blue one.

_**I**__ am the protector of this place. I know I am._

He crawled closer so he could hear their conversation more clearly, barely daring to breath in case they saw him.

The look-alike knocked its opponent over, forcing him to scramble back up. While the blue one was scrambling to attack it, it finally decided to throw out an insult that the spectator could actually hear. "Fool! You cannot challenge us! This world warps reality itself, and my master has already harnessed this power, as you can see!"

The blue creature stopped, silent, as he tried to regroup while his opponent was talking. Though, the newborn noticed both of them still had their weapons at the ready.

"Is it not coincidental that I look the same as you? Surely you questioned it, but have you come up with an answer?" The blue creature attempted to attack him, but the darker one merely smashed his back and wings, sending him skidding across the ground. The newborn flinched at the sight, but kept hidden.

"You don't know, do you?" He sounded so smug now, and that smugness grew as he saw the blue creature straining to get up. "I'll tell you. I'm here because _you're_ here. My master? He simply enchanted the mirrors with his magic. It was most useful to create darker, stronger, powerful copies of heroes...and pick them off one by one, don't you think?"

The spectator gasped quietly. Was he...going to kill the blue creature? What did he mean by what he'd said? Could it be that...outsiders only created more enemies, even if they came to help? _No more creatures coming in here; they're only making things worse. _

_I'm keeping them all out until I **fix** this._

That train of thought was interrupted in the split second he'd taken to think it.

"Perhaps...I should just take your place. With you, the original, gone, all that's left is me. Who would know the difference? I'm a copy of you. Buuuut...what do you do when you have too many copies of something? In my opinion..." The copy-creature strolled over and ran his jagged sword along the fallen 'original's wings, lightly enough to make a cut, but not enough to completely destroy them. "When you have too many copies of something, you get rid of the less-suitable ones; wouldn't that make sense?"

_Stop the fighting; stop the fighting and make the blue guy go home!_

But he couldn't. Somehow, he was just too scared. He clenched his paws in frustration.

_You're helpless. Go down there! This is your __home__; you have to protect this place; you SAID you would!_

And then, there was an interruption.

The battle broke for a split second, and the blue creature saw something in the passage reflection. The newborn stopped and glanced into the Dimensional Mirror to see the same thing—a round, pink creature with a sword in hand who was crossing the passage to the Hall of Mirrors, possibly around the same place he had been not too long ago.

In that instance, the blue creature's psyche pulsed in hope, and he threw off the shadow copy, dodging closer to where the newborn was hiding. The copy attacked him once again, but the blue fighter saw it coming and jumped up. Unfortunately, his relatively uninjured opponent was far quicker than he was, and he managed to land a heavy blow. However, the watching newborn's eyes narrowed at the mirror's scene, temporarily missing the action that had just occurred in the fight.

_Not even the pink one can stay now; it's bad enough he's probably already created a clone of his own that he'll have to fight. He'll have to go—_

Below him, the blue creature had taken the full blow of his attacker. He managed to land properly, but soon after, his eyes closed and he slumped to the floor. The grip on his sword loosened and it fell to the cloud-lined ground. All annoyance fled from the spectator in place of fear for the visitor's welfare. True, he was an outsider who had probably—well, _had_—brought some trouble with him, but...

_He did have good intentions, and I don't know the whole story..._

He wanted to move; to jump down and help the creature…but somehow he couldn't do anything but watch.

_I'm the new protector of the Mirror World; I can't let an innocent be hurt! Get down there, me!_

The dark copy of the fighter laughed in pleasure at the fall of his opponent. The spectator watched in horror as the Grand Mirror became temporarily engulfed in darkness before reflecting a dark, barren landscape. The shadow copy dragged his normal counterpart over to the Grand Mirror and laid him beneath it. An oval of light penetrated from the Mirror, and before his very eyes the blue creature was gone. The spectator focused, trying to find where the Mirror had sent him. It wasn't to the passage; no, this felt much…darker. Was it to the place it had reflected in its—

His connection to the Grand Mirror was cut off as the shadow copy slashed the Grand Mirror into eight sections. Though the dark clone was a product of the mirrors, he was not a part of them. The spectator, however, was linked to the mirrors somehow, and every time the Mirror was sliced, he felt like he was being torn apart. The pieces of the Grand Mirror shattered, and his newly-made body collapsed from the pain.

There was a blue glow from below that pulsed across the area, letting a feeling of panic ripple through his senses. Brushing the pain away, he peeked over the edge to see that the shattered Mirror segments were fleeing the Hall in panic. The hidden creature sighed in relief at the same moment that the darker clone smirked in triumph. While the Grand Mirror supported all their lives, at least the pieces were safe. And as long as the glass was away from the frame, the portal to the outside could not be accessed. Now, what to do about the—

He blinked as the stranger turned around and entered into a door in the Hall of Mirrors. It was simple and much less intricate than the other doors; it blended in very well with the surroundings.

_What's he going to do now?_

_I won't let him get away with anything else._

He heard noise behind him, spooking him to move on. Taking a deep breath, he jumped down from his hiding place. The stars in his eyes flashed as his tummy hit the ground, and his body was rendered into a silhouette in the Hall of Mirrors. His feet squeaked at every step, but knowing that he was invisible, he bravely marched forward into the door that the shadow copy of the blue sword-puff had entered. The mirror seemed a bit confused about who exactly was going through it, but accepted him regardless since he was one of them. He grinned.

_I don't know what's going on, but I'm part of the mirrors. I'm going to help defeat the evil, and I'll give those outsiders what's coming to them—well, maybe I'll be nice to them. But they'll have to help me until the Mirror's restored, and then they'll have to go home._

As he stepped into the grass in Rainbow Route, he realized that it had been exactly three minutes since he had been first born.

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><p>(The reason Shadow Kirby has memories and knowledge, despite just being created, is because he's Kirby's mirror reflection. His memories are parallel ones created and modified from Kirby's memories. However, at this point Shadow Kirby does not know his name, Kirby's name, or Meta Knight's, since they are from the real world and he would therefore lack knowledge about them. Sorry about the roughnessrepetition from not using any character names; it just wouldn't make sense if I called them by name when Shadow Kirby doesn't know them.)


End file.
